Cherish
by riptydes
Summary: Yuri's stubbornness leads to a fall and Victor isn't happy with him. Set somewhere around episodes 3-4. Victor/Yuri.


"Just one more." Yuri rubbed a hand over his face, wiping the sweat from his eyes.

Victor laughed. He was sweating too, one hand bracing him up on the wall as he waited to get his breath back. "Stamina really is your strong suit, isn't it?"

"I just… really want to get it right this time. Please?" Yuri could feel his legs beginning to tremble from the exhaustion, but knew he'd never be satisfied unless he could prove to Victor – prove to himself – that he had the skills to pull the jump off. That Victor managed to do so with apparently little effort, time and time again, only made him want it even more. If Victor was going to take a year off the ice in order to coach Yuri, then it was Yuri's job to show Victor that he wasn't wasting his time.

"Yuri. It's good to be motivated, but pushing yourself past your limits isn't a good habit. Give your body a rest, then try again later. Be patient."

Yuri shook his head. "There's no time to be patient! Not when I've only just gotten back into competitive shape – not when everyone else has already been practicing their routines for months, getting them perfect, and I'm still here flubbing my jumps like–"

" _Yuri_." Victor wasn't smiling now, his blue eyes regarding Yuri intently from where he stood. "Am I your coach, or aren't I?"

"You are, but–"

"Then you should trust me more and listen to what I have to say. Enough practice for now. Warm down, and we'll try again tomorrow." His gaze softened when Yuri's shoulders slumped. "We'll get there together. I promise."

Yuri sighed but nodded, pushing himself away from the wall and gliding backwards as he watched Victor leave the rink. He waited, skating slowly until Victor had seated himself on one of the benches to remove his skates. When Yuri was sure Victor was no longer looking, he picked up the pace, closing his eyes briefly as the momentum sent a burst of cold air rushing past. Victor must have noticed at some point, head jerking up at the sound of Yuri's skates gaining speed, but by the time Yuri had set himself up for the jump it was too late for the Russian to do anything about it.

"Stop!"

Yuri barely heard him, caught up as he was in fierce concentration, spurring his body on. This time, _this_ time he would make it–

He felt more than heard himself gasp, a triumphant grin ready to bubble to the surface as he realised he actually would. There were enough rotations, he had done it, he wasn't a failure after all… then the gasp being driven outwards as his leg collapsed from underneath him, the sharp pain in his knee sending out a cry in its place.

He had landed awkwardly, too much weight on his lower body and not even his hands to help offset the fall. He lay there for a moment, face pressed against the ice, too stunned to hear Victor rushing to his side.

"I told you no! This is exactly the kind of stubbornness that gets people off the ice for good, what the hell were you thinking, I _told_ you–"

Yuri blinked as Victor manoeuvred him into a sitting position, holding his leg firmly and jerking up the fabric of his tracksuit trousers. "V-Victor!" He felt himself go red. "What are you–?"

"Yuri. Please do me a favour and shut up."

Yuri's mouth snapped closed, though his blushing remained in full force.

"Does that hurt?" At Yuri's quick headshake, Victor gave a sigh of relief, his hands still feeling expertly up and down Yuri's leg. "No sprain then, at least. You might have an impressive bruise or two though."

Yuri looked at him, still unable to summon the right words, any words, in response.

Victor stared back, silent now as well, face expressionless and both hands cradling Yuri's leg like it was the most natural thing in the world. Then, before Yuri could gather hit wits enough to either pull away or apologize, Victor startled a yelp out of him with a cuff across the head, surprise more than pain driving the sound.

"Idiot."

"Victor…"

Yuri gaped as Victor rolled the trouser leg up a little further, gazing at him with a look he didn't know how to interpret but caused a fluttering somewhere in his stomach. Then Victor was leaning down until his lips pressed against the skin just below the knee, and his mouth was warm against the chill of bare flesh.

Yuri must have let out another sound at that, because Victor's eyes locked onto Yuri's again, and they burned even hotter than the touch of his mouth had.

"Cherish this body, Yuri. Take better care of it. It's the one thing I demand from you as your coach. I can't answer for my actions if you don't."

Yuri could only nod, reaching instinctively for the hand Victor offered him as he hauled Yuri up and began helping him off the rink. He was saying something else now, something about Yuri's tendency to compensate for his nervousness by over-rotating, but Yuri was too busy trying not to look at Victor's mouth to listen properly.

His leg was still tingling.


End file.
